Aquaculture for feeding the world

India has made spectacular positive factors in adapting aquaculture for the dietary calls for of its inhabitants. It’s the third largest producer general, rating second within the manufacturing of prawns. Andhra Pradesh is by far the biggest producer, with different West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Odisha making sizeable contributions together with Gujarat.

Dietary preferences too have modified — prawns, with their excessive protein and low fats content material, are more and more in demand each domestically and within the export market. Our aquaculture farms are supported by a community of industries that meet their many necessities, from aquafeed to measures for an infection management. Farmers and native entrepreneurs consistently try to give you progressive measures that enhance the amount and high quality of yield and meet local weather change-induced environmental challenges.

The phrases prawn and shrimp are sometimes used interchangeably, though they’re biologically distinct species. A prized product is the black tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon. This high-value marine species is grown wherever the circumstances are proper, and farmers try to realize the market-driven demand for 30 or much less prawns per kilogram. Like many different aquaculture species, these prawns require a level of salinity of their pond water: 10-25 grams of salts per litre of water is perfect (sea water has 35 grams of salts per litre).

In low-lying farms, corresponding to within the Midnapore district of West Bengal, sea water is introduced into aquaculture ponds throughout excessive tide. In coastal Andhra Pradesh, and somewhere else, the bottom water is brackish and is pumped out and blended with contemporary water from rivers and canals.

A typical aquaculture pond is about 150 x 100 metres in measurement, with a depth of about two metres. After every manufacturing cycle of four-six months, the water is emptied, and the pond dried in preparation for the subsequent harvest. An enterprising farmer, Siva Rama Rudraraju of Bapatla district in Andhra Pradesh has efficiently advocated smaller ponds for higher yields of prawns together with higher management of pathogens. Smaller ponds assist in containing financial losses when illness outbreaks happen, and bacterial pathogens corresponding to Vibrio harveyi are a severe risk. In India, annual losses can quantity to 25% of the anticipated yield. The white spot syndrome virus may be much more damaging in outbreak years.

Combating pathogens

Many laboratories now supply exams for figuring out infectious brokers, and an contaminated pond is shortly emptied. Nonetheless, farmers concern the unfold of the pathogens to close by ponds. Crows are often the culprits, carrying contaminated prawns and dropping them as they fly house. Plastic nets are sometimes used to cowl ponds. Generally, hunters are employed to cull the crow inhabitants.

Our farmers have adopted different strategies for holding pathogens. Probiotics are added to the pond water. These are Bacillus micro organism that don’t hurt the prawn however develop sooner than the pathogenic species, outcompeting them.

One other intelligent technique includes the younger, nursery-reared juvenile prawns which can be used as starters in prawn cultivation. The Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA) in Chennai has pioneered the event of ‘particular pathogen free’ prawn broodstock. Grown in biosecure services, these are licensed to be freed from particular high-risk pathogens. And ‘phage remedy’ makes use of bacteriophages that solely goal Vibrio micro organism. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and kill micro organism.

Whether or not developed within the subject by skilled farmers, or from research-driven initiatives, all these measures have led to a 17% progress fee in India’s annual prawn manufacturing.

(The article was written in collaboration with Sushil Chandani, who works in molecular modelling. sushilchandani@gmail.com)